Post #220312 by amiotiki on Sun, Mar 12, 2006 9:29 AM

This is a great thread! I'm fairly new to TC - 6 months and going stronger than ever. I grew up in Costa Mesa for the most part, from 1969 to 1981, when I moved to Santa Barbara. I have fond memories of Kona Lanes, where I learned to bowl (haha, I still suck at that), homes built with a Polynesian flare, apartment buildings styled ala Polynesia as well. I didn't appreciate them then for the icons that they would become, and I missed out because of that - but hey, I was a kid then, y'know? OH! And of course, the Enchanted Tiki Room - one of my absolute favorite places at Disneyland (right up there with Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion).
Now I've become deeply entrenched in tikiness, and my 13 year old daughter is following in my footsteps. She can't wait for us to move into our new house, which has the perfect back yard to tikify (it's well on it's way because the present owner has done much of the framework to make it so), as well as the perfect kitchen cabinets to display my 50 something mugs!
IMHO, all cultures evolve as time goes by. Tiki is no exception. We have embraced the culture and made it our own, adding our own personal vibe to it over time, each interpreting it in ways that enhance it and make it our own experience. Our kids will probably do the same - keeping the torches lit - albeit with alternative fuels, :) . As they come up, they will draw in their friends, much the way some of us were drawn in by our family and friends - and this is very cool!
The whole nature of tiki - relaxation, friendliness, fun, and some degree of quirkiness make what we do attractive to the younger folks, and all we need to do is keep mentoring the 'youngsters' like Pocky ... and Tiki will survive and flourish. Maybe not the way we 'oldsters' currently envision it, but with their own, unique flavor.
...Just my $.02 worth...

amiotiki